Easy Homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather

Easy homemade strawberry fruit leather, requiring only a few simple ingredients and an oven! Tastes just like your favorite fruit roll-up, only better.

This past weekend was tax free weekend in MA and since I had been wanting to go to Ikea for a while, I made a date with my mom to go shopping. It sounds funny to think about having to plan a trip to Ikea but it’s an hour away so I don’t exactly get there often, especially since I truly loathe weekend shopping. I was way too organized. I even printed a list so I wouldn’t forget anything and I didn’t. But I’m kind of bummed that now my search for a buffet continues because they’re super lame and don’t carry the one I want in store anymore AND they want to charge a seriously insane amount to ship it to me. It’s cute but whatever, not worth that price. I did, however, get a bunch of other fun stuff and then did even more shopping on Sunday.

Wait, let’s back up a minute… If you follow me on Instagram, maybe you’ve noticed how I’m working on a dresser for my girls’ room? (More pics coming!) I went furniture shopping with my mom too, searching for a really cute white metal bed. I know, super specific and apparently hard to find. The place we went to had some but didn’t entirely pull me in. I kept going back and fourth between them so clearly it wasn’t meant to be, at least that day because I’m still on a mission. But while we were there and still debating, I kept thinking about how kids would probably at some point have a strange urge to stick their heads through the bars on the footboard and would totally get stuck and omg the drama. Right? So my mom asked if my head would fit and then we’d know if it was safe or not. Oooh my head fit all right but I bashed my teeth on one of the bars because I wasn’t paying attention and was goofing off. Thankfully no damage but jeez, can you imagine?! Can’t take me anywhere…

Since we’re headed back to school in a few weeks here and lots of other kids are either already in school (crazy!) or soon will be, I figured now would be the absolute perfect time to share a super easy and delicious snack that every kid (and adult!) will totally love! I grew up devouring fruit roll-ups but let me tell you something… homemade is worlds better and super easy too! You don’t need a dehydrator, just some standard kitchen items – oven, jelly roll pan (which is basically a cookie sheet with sides), parchment paper or a silicone mat and a blender.

I’ve made fruit leather before and it’s always been a hit here. It’s practically impossible to get pictures of it though because my entire family (myself included) wants to dig in immediately. Being in the family of a food blogger has it’s downsides… waiting for the food!

Forget buying a box of factory made snacks that have too many ingredients to name and some that you may not even be able to pronounce. These are super basic and completely pronounceable – a huge plus! Your kids will love them and ask you to make them over and over again!

Be sure to check out the other back to school snack recipes, listed below!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 170°F degrees. Line two 12x17-inch rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Blend ingredients together until smooth. If desired, strain to remove seeds.
Divide mixture between pans, spread with an offset spatula to create an even layer.
Bake for 3 hours or until leather is no longer sticky. Rotate pans 180 degrees and swapping levels half way through.
Transfer leather to a cutting board to slice into desired sizes. Wrap with parchment or wax paper. Store in an airtight container.

Honey may be substituted for the granulated sugar. Recipe yield will vary depending on how the fruit leather is cut.

105 Responses to “Easy Homemade Strawberry Fruit Leather”

I have not personally tried it with honey. You can typically substitute but the amounts are not always 1:1. In this case I’d try 2/3-3/4C at most but you should taste it along the way before you add the entire amount in.

More than likely you won’t have to worry about a storage issue if you have kids in the house. It will disappear fast! But as for freezing, I haven’t personally tried that so I can’t be sure if it would work well or not. Feel free to give it a try and let me know how it works! Good luck :)

After 3 hours, mine was still mush. I ended up having to go to bed and get up in the wee hours to check it. Ultimately it took 7 hours in the oven, and I probably could’ve left it just a smidge longer because there were some undried spots.

Rachel — July 12th, 2014 @ 8:09 am

If the mixture is too thick or the oven temperature is not accurate, that can play a huge role in how long it will take to dry out completely. I hope you enjoyed it! :)